Pilot John Vanek, a Pilots N Paws volunteer from the Detroit suburb of Clinton Township, appreciates the opportunity to partner recreational flying with a meaningful purpose. The Canadian native's interest was piqued after watching a broadcast about the organization. He researched the group and then applied to help.

Pilot John Vanek, a Pilots N Paws volunteer from the Detroit suburb of Clinton Township, appreciates the opportunity to partner recreational flying with a meaningful purpose. The Canadian native's interest was piqued after watching a broadcast about the organization. He researched the group and then applied to help.

"Any excuse to get up and fly," he said. "It gives me a good excuse to basically keep up flying and have a purpose behind my flying."

Vanek's debut mission in March of 2009 stands out in his memory.

"My first mission was to fly out to upstate New York and bring this little cocker spaniel back to the Detroit City Airport," he recalled.

He delivered the cocker into the arms of his waiting adoptive family in Detroit.

"They just needed someone to help them out by transporting it from upstate New York to the Detroit area," he said.

The mission went exactly as planned and Vanek credits Pilots N Paws' organizational efforts, especially providing contact information for the people at both ends of his journey.

"They are a very organized and structured organization," he said.

The journey itself proved uneventful, but extremely rewarding.

"I was surprised how quiet the little dog was in the back seat of the plane," he said. "They gave me a little dog kennel, so I strapped that in the back seat of the plane and I kept checking on it during the trip. The little girl just put her head down on her paws and fell asleep for the hour and a half journey back to Detroit."

Vanek credits the dog's tranquility to the steady hum of the plane's engine and the quiet atmosphere inside the plane.

"It just put her right out," he said.

His service and concern for the dogs he has transported continues long after Vanek's plane lands. Months after delivery, Vanek called the pet owners to check on how the dogs have adjusted.

"They all have bounced right back … and they have somebody who cares for them and treats them like a true pet," he said. Vanek encourages fellow pilots to get involved with Pilots N Paws.

"We, as pilots, have to fly anyhow, so why not put some purpose behind it? If there are any other pilots out there who would consider doing something like this, they need to just do it," he said. "The self-gratification of doing a mission like this is hard to describe. Any pilot will get a kick out of flying, but to do something that really counts like this is a whole different feeling."